CASA program · Platform

Designing and developing the AviationWorx LMS front end.

AviationWorx was one of two internal learning platforms at CASA whose front end I designed and developed. This page is written from confirmed responsibility rather than from recovered screens.

Client
Civil Aviation Safety Authority
program
CASA, 2015–2021
Role
LMS front-end design and development
Platform
Editorial placeholder: Confirm technology and integration details
Audience
Editorial placeholder: Confirm audience

01

Image to supplyAviationWorx platform home page

A screen showing the AviationWorx wordmark, primary navigation and the learner landing view.

In 60 seconds

The problem
An internal learning platform whose default interface did not match how CASA staff actually looked for learning.
My role
Front-end design and development of the learner-facing experience.
Scope
Interface design, learner navigation, content structure and platform-consistent front-end build. Editorial placeholder: Confirm platform scope
Where it got to
A learner-facing front end for AviationWorx, designed and built in house. Editorial placeholder: Add measurable outcome
Built with
Editorial placeholder: Confirm technology and integration details

The situation

CASA ran AviationWorx as an internal learning platform. I designed and developed its learner-facing front end. Editorial placeholder: Confirm platform scope and Editorial placeholder: Confirm number of courses/users.

The recurring problem with a platform front end inside a regulator is that the platform is chosen for administration and compliance reasons, and the learner interface is whatever the product ships with. That interface is built for a generic customer, not for an inspector who has fifteen minutes between tasks and knows exactly what they are looking for.

What was actually wrong

Front-end work on a learning platform is usually described as theming. It is not. Theming changes colours. What actually determines whether a platform gets used is what appears above the fold, how many decisions a learner has to make before they reach content, and whether the labels use the organisation's own words.

The parts of a platform you can change are the parts worth designing carefully, because the parts you cannot change will be tolerated either way.

Constraints

  • A vendor platform whose underlying structure could not be rewritten, only worked with. Editorial placeholder: Confirm technology and integration details
  • Government network and browser conditions, which set the floor for what the front end could rely on. Editorial placeholder: Confirm constraints
  • Content already in the platform, which meant the interface had to fit existing material rather than the other way round.

What it looked like, and why

02Platforms

Image to supplyAviationWorx learner landing view

The screen a learner sees on sign-in: navigation, primary tasks and any featured or required learning.

The landing view is the whole argument of a platform front end. Everything a learner cannot find here, they will ask an administrator for.

03Information architecture

Image to supplyAviationWorx course or catalogue view

How courses were listed, grouped and filtered.

Discoverability, shown rather than claimed. Editorial placeholder: Confirm how courses were grouped on AviationWorx and whether the grouping was role-based.

Where it got to

  • A learner-facing front end designed and built in house for an internal CASA platform
  • Navigation, content structure and interface conventions shaped around how CASA staff actually looked for learning, rather than the platform's generic default
  • Editorial placeholder: Confirm whether this front end remained in production or was superseded by CLASS

Course volumes, user numbers and platform metrics are unconfirmed and not claimed here.

Recognise any of this?

If your situation rhymes with this one, the useful next step is usually a short conversation about where the problem actually sits.

Or write directly: glenn@glennhammond.com